Well, speaking in English has its own perks for yourself as well as for the ones around you. Speaking in the English language gives you confidence so that you deliver the message in a strong manner without any hesitation and fumble.
It is important to remember that whenever you are having a conversation, make sure that you sound polite and friendly instead of rude and arrogant. You may know that your tone is soft but it might not be the same for the opposite person. They might take it as offensive and it might harm your image. There are a few ways through which you can start your conversation in English.
Firstly, greet the opposite person. Greetings form a good image in the minds of the opposite person which makes the following conversation lighter and friendly. Make sure that you are listening to the opposite and you are not just constantly speaking. This creates a bad image in the minds of the person you are talking to. Take time to listen to that person, understand what they are trying to speak, then analyze the situation and give out your opinion. Always begin your conversation with greetings, whether it is your friend or your colleague.
You can start your conversation with words and phrases like – Hey,Hi, Greetings, Howdy, Bonjour, How are you doing?, How’s life?, How’s your day going?, Having a busy day?,etc. Greeting the person always makes them feel that you are keen to listen up to what they want to say. Apart from these, don’t just rush into your main topic of interest. Listen and understand how is the person you are talking to. Do both of you share common grounds of a particular topic? Does the topic interest you both? If no, then there will be just you taking interest and talking and that will bore the opposite person. You don’t want to make this happen, right?
If you have any questions about the person you are talking to, it is good to ask them. It is polite to ask another person in order to find out more about them and know them in a better way.Some basic questions you can ask anyone and anywhere is – What’s your name? Where do you live? Where are you from? What do you do?
There are various factors where these kind of questions depend upon. There are ways where your speaking differs. You might speak more formally with a person you don’t know or you’ve never met. It could be your colleague or someone older than you. You would speak more casually and informally to the ones you know. It could be your friends, family; basically the ones you know.
Don’t just begin to have an informal conversation, you never know the opposite person and what is going on in their head. Wait for that person you speak casually and then you can add on.
How will you talk to someone whom you’ve been introduced to? Nice to meet you!, Pleased to meet you!, How do you two know each other?, So, what do you do for a living? – this means what do you do for a job?, How long have you been doing that? How do you talk to someone whom you are meeting after a long time? How are you keeping?, What have you been doing lately?,How’s your family? Long time no see! If you are in your workplace/office, you would want to speak more formally to keep it professional.
Other way round, you would want to keep it light and friendly talks if you are in a party, in a bar, at a concert, or at a theatre; someplace where informal conversations go a long way. It is humble and polite to ask questions to a person about themselves when you meet them, but it is equally important to answer the questions they have asked you. With this, you can keep your conversation flowing.
If you are not so very good at English, but you understand some words and phrases, then it could be challenging to have a conversation. But make sure you don’t give up. While you are listening to someone, make sure you hear those words with which you are familiar and understand more than the words you don’t.
What would you do when you don’t have topics to talk on. Well, talk about the projects you are working on or talk about your hobbies and habits you have outside work, or what do you like to do in your free time. When you know you’ve had enough conversation with the person and you are still falling short of topics, don’t stretch the conversation, or else it might seem that you are speaking just for the sake.
Lastly, how would you end a conversation? Just don’t say ‘bye’ and move on. It might seem rude on your part and can make the opposite person feel that they are being neglected. You can say things like – it was good talking to you, see you again, I’ve had a good time with you, etc. With this, you give a good impression and you create a good image in the mind of the person you were talking to.